Murdoch Dismisses Myth of Absolute Power over Media; New Corp Boss and ,Cydemocracy's Servant' Tells His Version of Events in Leveson Case

Article excerpt

RUPERT Murdoch, one of the world's most powerful and influential media bosses, came to the Leveson Inquiry with one objective: to bust the myth that his power gave him any influence.

An over-powerful Murdoch kingdom with subjects falling on their knees to deliver his every wish was the creation of his competitors, he said. If politicians went out of their way to impress him, they were, he suggested, wasting their expenses. In testimony that sounded over-rehearsed and peppered with legally tutored phrases like C[pounds sterling]I neither sought to discussC[yen], C[pounds sterling]I did not recallC[yen] and C[pounds sterling]I did not askC[yen], Mr Murdoch portrayed himself as democracy's servant and delivered a history lesson that contradicted most published accounts of his commercial and political enterprises.

Gordon Brown

There were a lot of things Rupert Murdoch couldn't recall or remember, but he remembered the C[pounds sterling]outstandingC[yen] occasion on which he met JK Rowling at Chequers in June, 2008, when he was the guest of Gordon and Sarah Brown. Mr Murdoch claimed he had made a C[pounds sterling]personal connectionC[yen] with Ms Brown, the two of them spending time discussing their family links to a long line of Presbyterian ministers.

In September, 2009, Murdoch said that Brown C[pounds sterling]declared warC[yen] on his company in a phone call to the proprietor. C[pounds sterling]I don't think he was in a very balanced state of mind,C[yen] Murdoch said. Mr Brown said that Murdoch's account was C[pounds sterling]wholly wrongC[yen] and demanded he retract his account.

Tony Blair

When Mr Blair was elected Labour leader in 2004, Mr Murdoch is recorded as saying he could C[pounds sterling]imagine backingC[yen] him. Within a short period, Mr Blair was a favourite to become the next prime minister. A private dinner between the two at the smart Mossimanis restaurant was recalled by Andrew Neil Co but Mr Murdoch said yesterday that he couldn't remember. Mr Blair was apparently keen to tell Mr Murdoch that under New Labour there would be C[pounds sterling]no onerous media ownership rulesC[yen]. That would have sounded like sweet music to Mr Murdoch. …